Richard Strauss: Capriccio

Soloists:

Hakan Hagegard, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos

Orchestra, choir:

San Francisco Opera Orchestra

Conductor:

Donald Runnicles

Director:

Stephen Lawless

Capriccio is a somewhat unique work in the opera repertoire. This “one-act conversation piece” was composed in 1942 during Strauss’s later years and deals with an intellectual discussion held during an evening gathering about which is more important in opera, the words or the music, and thus also in opera itself. Strauss himself feared that the general public would not appreciate this “delicacy intended for culture lovers” – but he was wrong. His theatrical “theatrical fugue” became one of his most frequently performed late works. This production provides a magnificent stage for the inimitable Kiri Te Kanawa, a Strauss specialist who shines in her role as a humorous and charming countess torn between two suitors.